Given the chance
by AnInsomniaOfWriting
Summary: After the war, things are different and Sakura is left alone in a big world, but the arrival of a certain past team member may put her in an even more difficult situation with even more difficult choices. Rated M for later content.
1. Unlikely, and unannounced visitor

**Authors notes:** Well people, I do apologize for my rather prolonged absence from this site, but getting a girlfriend kinda takes away from my writing time. That being said she's going to Vietnam next month for an entire month so I decided to do a whole new story in that time. Given how much free time I'll have expect frequent updates on this one. Possibly even daily (considering it). I still have my full-time job though, but I've done it before.

Anyways, I'm going for a little more comedy in this one despite it also being rather serious. So let's see how it goes.

This first chapter isn't really all that long, but to be honest it's really gonna hedge on feedback (if I get any). Normally my chapters will be twice to three times this length so don't let this first short chapter discourage you if longer chapters is what you're looking for.

**Disclaimer:** I obviously don't on Naruto, if someone has informed you otherwise, you really don't need to be using the internet.

If someone five years ago had said that things would end up like this, I would not have believed them. The present was, difficult to understand. I often wondered how things managed to reach this particular outcome. It had only been a year since he died, Naruto that is. I could only save one and in the end I chose the man I loved. No one expected him to be the one who would come to the worlds rescue. I had just become to truly realize that he was the enemy when he stopped Madara and Obito in the final battle.

In the end though the war had taken it's toll, and the alliance of the five nations did not last. Honestly I wasn't surprised at that fact. After all who could accept the enemy as their savior? Most couldn't, yet that day he disappeared again without a trace. Not without thanking me once again though. In truth it was far to reminiscent of the first time he left me, but this time I wasn't stopping him from leaving. My heart was too far gone. Now all that was left was the fighting. The constant border skirmishes were growing tiresome. I wished that they would come to an end sometime soon, at least there was some evidence to suggest that they might. There wasn't exactly a lot of military power from any nation, nearly every village had lost two-thirds of their respective forces.

Konoha was no exception. A new memorial had been constructed with all the names of the lost. Sadly it was much larger than the last one that resided in the training grounds. I often made trips to Naruto's grave. I was ending up like Kakashi, constantly being ashamed of the past. I knew about how he killed Rin, but that story would take several drinks if someone was going to get it out of me. It was far to sad for me to just casually recant to someone, nor was it really my story to tell.

Today though I was finally settling into my new apartment. I had been waiting for some time for one now and it was good to see that one had been built. Large segments of the village were still under construction with housing being a priority. Businesses and other buildings would have to come later. Though some small restaurants had managed to open own their own. Nothing fancy, but it was good to have a few options about what to eat, but there wasn't anything too fancy. No one really cared about that though. There were always far more important things to be doing. I had plenty of work to do up at the hospital, but Konoha wasn't exactly on a shortage of medics, so I managed to get the say off so I could move what few things that I had into my new home. A few neighbors were unpacking as well. This was the first day that this complex was open after all.

Still after unpacking a few select belongings I couldn't help but feel a pang of loneliness. It seemed that no one had time for each other anymore, since things were far from normal. I was really beginning to miss the way things were. Following in Naruto and Sasuke's shadow as the two of them saved the world. I wanted to cry as I put the picture of us as genin in the training field with Kakashi. The looks on Naruto and Sasuke's faces always managed to make me smile a little before I got emotional over it. I didn't feel like crying myself to sleep again tonight though, so I continued unpacking. Hoping that it would distract me enough, but too soon I was done with the task. I checked the time on my clock. It was barely past five which meant that it would still be several hours before the sun went down.

I got the urge to take a walk and clear my head, and get away from all the noise from the seemingly constant construction that was going on. It didn't take long to reach the village gates. Which were left surprisingly intact after the village was destroyed. I began to run after what was probably close to a few miles. I didn't know why I was, just that it felt good to get my blood flowing. It seemed like it had been an eternity since I had any real exercise, even though in reality it had only been about two weeks at the most. Finally though I needed to take a break. I stopped, perched on top of a tree to watch the sun start to set over the edges of the trees. I sighed, it would be dark by the time I had got back and I didn't bring any water with me to drink. I listened, seeing if perhaps there was a stream near here. It didn't help that I wasn't paying any attention to where I was going, but in the distance the light from the village cast a faint amount of light on the sky which was now starting to darken even more from the clouds that were beginning to form.

"Great, just my luck." I sighed to myself. I began heading back as quick as I could, though not at the pace that I had when I first came here. I felt somewhat out of shape as I managed to make it back to the village before the rain started. In the distance the first few rumbles of thunder hummed loudly. However my fortune ended as soon after hearing the noise. The first few drops that hit me were cold and thick, stinging me a little as they made contact with my skin. I began to rush home, but by then it was far too late. People in the streets abandoned what they were doing and headed indoors. The only people left were the guards. They were everywhere now, but to be honest only a rare few of them were sensory types. Some of them were barely Chūnin and they were just for show to make the people feel safe. I heard the pay wasn't all that great, but to be honest all the did was stand there all day.

I fumbled with my key, trying to get it in the door. It was still new, so it wasn't wanting to go in right. I managed to get it though after several moments of irritation that somewhat made me just want to bash the whole door down. I quickly stepped inside and began to try and strip off my wet clothes. I started with my pants, because they were easier to get off than my shirt. It was proving to be much more difficult. It's what I get for trying to take Ino's suggestion and try to attract the guys. To be honest I didn't know why I ever listened to her. I began to undo the clips on my bra...

"You may want to stop." A faint chuckle followed the words. I quickly fumbled for the light switch. The sudden light put strain on my eyes, even though I knew who it was. I knew his voice well.

"What are you doing here Sasuke!?" I shouted running my hand through my hair in a mix of anger and confusion.

"Keep quiet! And you may want to put some clothes on." I just occurred to me at that point that I was standing completely naked in front of him and dripping wet.

"Don't freaking stare idiot, just turn around." amazingly enough he did so, which was good that way he couldn't see that I was about to physically die of embarrassment. I threw on a few clothes that I had left out. I didn't even bother with a bra or panties. I turned to face him again. He was still standing there. His hood was still wet. Which meant that he couldn't have been here long. Did he follow me? He must have followed me from the forest.

"You can turn around now" He turned to face me, pulling off the cloak that he was wearing. "Why are you here?"

"I need a favor."


	2. Vain

**Authors Comments:** Well here you are people, chapter 2! and it only took me like a week lol. Anyways...enjoy.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own this series.

* * *

"A favor? You snuck into the village to ask me for a favor?!" Sasuke nodded. "I don't even owe you a favor. If anything you owe me a favor, after all I did save your life not to long ago. Maybe you forgot that though!"

"No, I didn't and quit shouting. People are going to hear you. Look, it's not that big of a favor."

"First you need to explain why you disappeared last year. I'm not doing anything for you until you give me a good explanation."

"I couldn't have come back, you know that."

"You didn't even try. Did you ask anyone if you could. You did the right thing in the end...maybe it didn't turn out the best, but no one is questioning you. Everyone knows what you did. It's the reason why everyone is still looking for you. You're not a criminal."

"Yes I am Sakura, one good deed doesn't dissolve all of the bad things that I did. Not everyone is as quick to forgive as you."

"I still think that you should at least inquire about, maybe some sort of deal could be worked out."

"There won't need to be a deal. At least not with what I have in mind."

"You make it sound like you have some way of changing the past." At least at this point he had me slightly curious. Still the whole situation was still rather strange. I still believed that he would be able to return to the village. Worst case scenario it wasn't like there wasn't anyone here who could stop him save for Kakashi and even that would be a rather iffy fight.

"And what if I did have a way to change it? And what if I needed someone I could trust to help me?"

"Sasuke, time travel isn't possible. Even if it were, tampering with it might not be the best of ideas. Admittedly I don't care for the way that things are now...but it's not the point. It just means that I need to create a better future...How far back are you talking anyways?

"As far as we need to, and we can always return to this time if something gets screwed up."

"That seems a little to convenient. What's the catch?"

"What makes you think that there's a catch involved?"

"Any time there's some type of forbidden jutsu there's always a risk...don't pretend like there's not going to be some kind of one associated with this."

"No there is a risk. We could end up stuck in the past with no way of getting back. Along with a myriad of other things that could go wrong when sending your soul through time and space."

"Soul?"

"Well you obviously can't have the same soul in the same world at once."

"Obviously? Quit pretending like I'm some sort of space-time slash spiritual guru expert"

"The point is, we'll need to inhabit our old bodies in order for this to work. You'll remember everything like you do now, you will just be...younger."

"I'm still not sold on the idea. What is your point in trying to go to the past anyways?"

"I can't tell you that."

"Why not!?" I could have sworn at this point that he was intentionally trying to make me mad, or lull me into some kind of trap. Though I was trying my best to convince myself that he had good intentions. Still, I wanted to trust him. I couldn't ignore what he did for everyone.

"It's personal, you're going to just have to trust me. I know that's hard for you. I should go, just think about it. I'll be back again at the same time tomorrow."

"Wait! Where are you staying at? The weather out there is still pretty bad. You should just stay here."

"I wouldn't want to cause you any trouble, besides it doesn't even look like you have any place for me to sleep."

"Just share the bed with me, unless you're too scared to sleep in the same bed as a girl." In my head I had a strange moment. I don't know why those words slipped out, or why I was teasing him for that matter. Perhaps all the talk about the past had me feeling a little nostalgic. Still seeing the color flushing to Sasuke's cheeks causing a rather red blush was priceless.

"Uh.." It was rather sad to see the gears in his head struggling to wind and come to a decision.

"Whatever, you're staying, it's not optional. Sit I'll make something to eat and some tea."

"I'm not.."

"Shut up and sit. You're going to eat and drink and stay here and I really don't want to hear any more objections about it. Understand?" I didn't know why but having an unusual since of control over him felt really good and the satisfaction of watching him awkwardly sit on my couch almost made me laugh despite the serious mood. He just really didn't seem to fit in anywhere he went. I almost felt bad for him. I put on a pot of water to boil for some tea. He just sat on the couch looking rather uncomfortable, just looking at all my things that I had sitting around. A few times he even glanced at the picture of the four of us. Team Seven, it seemed like it was such a long time ago. The idea of reliving it again was more than tantalizing.

"Here." I handed him a hot cup of tea whose silky aroma was now filling up the small apartment. He took it from me and took one small sip, carefully avoiding to burn his tongue in the process. I took a sip of my own and sat next to him on the couch. Truth be told I was uncomfortable as well sitting next to him, which was unfortunate considering I was about to sleep with him. Still the silence was starting to get to me, but I didn't know what to say to break the silence. Last time it took me undressing to get him to say something and I wasn't about to do that again.

Soon enough though it was that time and the only words spoken were me asking him if he was ready to sleep. Sitting there quietly for a few hours oddly took a lot out of me. It had been a long day after all. I set up the bed and climbed in first. Giving him as much space as possible on the other side of the bed. I didn't really feel any "encounters" of some sort coming up. Not that I was "that kind" of girl to begin with. I still had yet to get that far with a guy before. Though with my life and the way it was currently going up until now I somehow ever doubted I would find the time for the kind of recreation. Plus I never considered myself a very attractive girl. No one except for Naruto ever displayed any kind of interest in me. Save for a misguided comment from Kakashi a few times. Those always creeped me out though.

Even though I was facing the other way I could tell he still wasn't very comfortable around me. It was a strange thought to think that he was seemingly dependent on me at the same time. I didn't know what to do in this situation. Some part of me really wanted to help him. I couldn't even tell if I still loved him or not. My whole history with him had just been one emotional ride full of its own unique brand of ups and downs. I knew a year ago when I choose to save his life I still loved him but when he left again it crushed me down to me core. It was as if he didn't care that I had literally sacrificed someones life for him.

I often hoped that he just couldn't bear what I had done for him, and maybe he just didn't think that he could ever repay me. Which on some level he likely couldn't, at least not right now. If he really did have some fantasy jutsu that could somehow change the past then maybe it was worth my time to help him. I would need to know that he could change though, and at the end of it all he wasn't just going to walk out of my life again. Against my better judgment, I was going to trust him again, if I didn't then to many people will have died on my account for nothing. I really hoped that it would be worth it this time, because this time I wouldn't let him get away with walking out on me again. Even if it meant killing him. This time I knew I had the resolve to.


End file.
